Published 23 June 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2551
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b2551
News
Ireland’s recommended colorectal cancer screening programme will not get extra government funding
Muiris Houston
1 Galway
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
A national colorectal cancer screening programme for people in Ireland aged 55 to 74 years has been recommended by two expert reports published last week. However, the Irish health minister, Mary Harney, has failed to commit additional funding for the project, instead asking experts to come up with "innovative ways" of introducing the programme "within existing resources."
The primary screening test recommended by experts from the National Cancer Screening Service and the one found to be most cost effective by the Health Information and Quality Authority is the faecal immunochemical test, designed to detect blood in the stool. A test kit would be posted every two years to people eligible for screening.
The faecal immunochemical test is more selective for blood originating from the colon and rectum than the older faecal occult blood test. It does not require dietary and drug restrictions and is expected to reduce the number of
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